On 15 June 2010 the Environment Agency (the "Agency"), as the administrator of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme ("CRCEES"), issued long awaited guidance on the application of the CRCEES to private equity funds (the "Guidance").

Most of the trading disclosure requirements for UK companies under the Companies Act 2006 (the "2006 Act") came into force last year, on 1 October 2008- but for limited liability partnerships ("LLPs"), overseas companies, partnerships and sole traders, the requirements in the Companies Act 1985, or regulations made under that Act, continued to govern.

Powerful evidence of a recent shift towards more buyer-friendly contract provisions has been provided for the first time by a survey of nearly 500 non-public M&A transactions from 2007 and 2008 carried out by CMS member firms.

UK companies with European businesses looking to restructure are able to take advantage of a new procedure in the UK, as an alternative to a business transfer, which enables a UK company to merge with a company in a different European Economic Area ("EEA") state.